Wednesday, August 13, 2008

I'll hold your shuttlecock if you hold mine.

As the Czech Republic's Katy Emmons was on the verge of winning the first gold medal of the 2008 Olympic Games on Saturday, there was at least one person in the venue more nervous than she — her husband and fellow Olympic shooter, American Matt Emmons.

"Whenever you’re watching the other one, you’re always more nervous than the one shooting," Matt Emmons said.

Matt and Katy Emmons are living an Olympic fairy tale. They met in 2004 in Athens, where Katy won bronze and Matt not only won gold, but also made history … albeit not the kind he was hoping to make.

Matt entered the finals of the 50m rifle 3 position final with a huge lead, and essentially only needed to hit the target to win. But instead of securing his second gold of the games, he aimed at the wrong target, received a score of zero, and plummeted to eighth place.

Katy, who was watching the match, felt so bad for Matt that she approached him at a beer garden later that day to console him. The chemistry between the two was instant. They began dating, and the couple married in 2007.

Beijing is their first Olympics competing as husband and wife."Whenever you’re watching the other one, you’re always more nervous than the one shooting," said Matt Emmons after watching his wife win the gold medal.

Katy is hoping to help Matt remember to aim for the right target at his events on Aug. 15 and 17. Taking home four gold medals between them would certainly add a storied chapter to their Olympic romance, but for Katy and Matt, the happily-ever-after doesn’t depend on hardware. They are going to try to add a little Olympian to their family.

"We’re hoping to start after the games. We’re hoping to start soon. That’s something that’s very important to us," Matt said. "Family is much more important to us than sports, so we’re looking forward to it."